The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutAgenda Packet - BC - 2012.05.03AGENDA B URLINGAME BEAUTIFICATION COMMISSION �- MAY3,3012n6.30PM CITY HALL 501 PRIMROSE ROAD - Conference Room A I. ROLL CALL H. MINUTES 111. CORRESPONDENCE IV. FROM THE FLOOR (At this time, persons in the audience may speak on any item on the agenda or any other matter. The Ralph M. Brown Act prohibits the Commission from acting on a matter which is not on the agenda. Comments are limited to three minutes.) V. OLD BUSINESS 1) 2012 Landscape Award Nomination Status VI. NEW BUSINESS None �- VII. REPORTS 1) Staff 2) Chairperson 3) Commissioners VIII. UPCOMING AGENDA ITEMS Next Regular Meeting: June 7, 2012 NOTICE: Any attendees wishing accommodations for disabilities should contact the Parks & Recreation n yt. at ; 65n� 558-?323 at least ?4 hours before the meeting. A c yy of the agenda packet is available for review at the Recreation Center, 850 Burlingame Avenue, during normal office hours. The agendas and minutes are also available on the City's website: www. burlin ame. org. Any writings or documents provided to a majority of the Beautification Commission regarding any item on this agenda will be made available for public inspection at 850 Burlingame Ave during normal business hours. Page 1 of 2 PARKS -Harvey, Karlene From: Jennifer Pfaff Ujpf@pacbell.net] Sent: Saturday, March 24, 2012 3:37 PM To: Rosalie O'Mahony; rosalieomahony1 @netzero.com; Randy Schwartz; PARKS -Richmond, Tim; oracleoaknursery@gmail.com; Cathy Baylock; PW/ENG-Murtuza, Syed; PW/ENG-Gomery, Jane; P`W/ENG-Chou, Augustine; Steve Scott: PARKS -Harvey, Karlene; PARKS -Disco, Bob; PW/ENG- Voong, Victor Subject: Burlingame's El Camino Trees added to National Register Attachments: Howard Ralston Tree Rows NR Final.pdf; ATT1808711.htm; ECR c1915.jpg; ATT1808712.htm; Howard Ralston 2010.jpeg; ATT1808713.htm Dear Rosalie, Randy, Tim, Larry, Cathy, Steve, Karlene, Bob, Augustine, Victor, Jane and Seyed, Who would have imagined a century ago, or even a decade ago, that we would have been bestowed this honor in 2012. I have not yet received the snail mail letter, but have been notified by the State OHP officer and by the Caltrans' Cultural Resources Division (remember Elizabeth Krase?) that the El Camino Real Tree Rows Resource was signed into the National Register of Historic Places a couple of days ago. The nomination paper (with supporting text) is attached as submitted to Washington D.C; for those interested. We all know that working with Caltrans presents many challenges, and I am fully aware that this designation will not change any of that. 'Be forever vigilant', as Mayor Rosalie O'Mahony has always said. However, I hope that this designation will be a wake-up call for future generations; as busy as they all are with all their electronic gadgets, they don't look around or pay much attention to their surroundings anymore. But they should never take any of our trees for granted, or these will perish for good, as well as their replacements. If we as a community stop caring, nobody else will, certainly not a State Agency that spends 99.9% of it's time and funds on asphalt and steel. All of you have played a significant role in getting to this point, whether it was arguing endlessly with Caltrans not to remove otherwise healthy trees, or to plant new ones (and how many), researching and providing invaluable information on new elms to be planted in the future or getting grant trees planted on the ECR and caring for them, I do want to thank you so much from the bottom of my heart, for having gone the extra mile to be good stewards of our special Grove. Sincerely, Jennifer Pfaff (The reader's digest version of the significance of the Grove follows, written by State Historian I, William Burg in December 2011- 3/26/2012 Page 2 of 2 Cathy Baylock and .lennifer Pfaff in attendance at the Chico OHP panel hearing in January 2012): Howard -Ralston Eucalyptus Tree Rows Burlingame and Hillsborough, San Mateo County, California Staff Report Howard -Ralston Eucalyptus Tree Rows is a designed landscape of 557 trees flanking El Camino Real (State Route 82) through the cities of Burlingame and Hillsborough. The tree rows were designed by landscape gardener John McLaren to beautify and protect from wind the portion of the County Highway leading to the grand estates of several San Francisco Peninsula property owners, including George H. Howard and William C. Ralston. The planting, undertaken between 1873 and 1876, was comprised primarily of English elms and eucalyptus. The property is nominated under Criterion A for its association with the founding and urban design of the cities of Burlingame and Hillsborough, and Criterion C as an example of master landscape designer John McLaren's early work. The period of significance is from 1873, when the first trees were planted, until 1930, when the city of Burlingame enacted zoning ordinances that prohibited commercial development along El Camino Real in order to protect the Tree Rows. Property owners Howard and Ralston wished to create an attractive boulevard in order to draw investors to their property, hiring McLaren to design a functional and aesthetically pleasing landscape. The communities adjacent to the tree rows succeeded in attracting residents through the early t 20 century. Despite growing development pressure in the early 20 century, the local community �- quickly recognized the importance of the tree rows. In 1908, the Mayor and Trustees of Burlingame enacted an ordinance "prohibiting the cutting, injuring or destroying of trees on public streets, highways or parks of the Town of Burlingame." Subsequent efforts to counter those wishing to cut down the tree rows resulted in the election of candidates supportive of zoning ordinances to protect the Tree Rows by 1930. PS. Some of you might be intrigued that Burlingame's early zoning ordinances used with respect to El Camino are now going to be credited as the earliest in the nation (1930) designed specifically to protect a historic resource (in our case, residential zoning to protect the Grove from Commercial development sprawl)- an honor heretofore given Charleston, South Carolina in 1931. 3/26/2012 JL Af P � AW I E/l 1 K..• j iil row- .. _ . ,' THE BURLINGAME HISTORICAL SOCIETY SPRING 2012, ISSUE #130 -THE RECORD El Camino Real Trees Listed in National Register of Historic Places! On March IS, 20I2, Burlingame's unique El Camino Real Grove, (officially known as the Howard Ralston Eucalyptus Tree Rows) was listed in the National Register of Historic Places, a distinguished honor for our City. Looking at the tree -lined streets of Burlingame today, one would be hard-pressed to imagine a time when the San Francisco Peninsula was windy, dusty and largely devoid of trees. All that changed in the 1870s when a group of local John McLaren" `Howard -Ralston Tree Rows"nearAdeline Dr. zozo Photo by Mary Packard property owners, intent on subdividing and marketing their land, hired Scottish landscape gardener John McLaren to transform the area between modern day Millbrae and San Mateo Creek into an oasis of beauty that would beckon newcomers. McLaren, who spent 14 years in San Mateo County in the employ of Agnes and George H. Howard before being hired to oversee landscaping in Golden Gate Park, transformed 4 miles of the El Camino Real into a tunnel paradise of eucalyptus and elm. By the mid -teens Continued on pg. z PAGE i THE BURLINGAME HISTORICAL SOCIETY SPRING 2012, ISSUE #130 NEWACQUISITIONS the Oak Grove and Broadway areas, 1949, the old City Hall cupola being salvaged from the Park Rd. building, 1970, the 1967 d; Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance, and a Hyatt Cinema promotional shot with actors and a hot-air balloon, 1967; Brita ` A Wirick Bleuel for several diaries and misc. ephemera dating from the early to mid-igoos, from her grandmother Lucille Wirick who was very active during the i95os in the Burlingame Chapter No. 275 of the Order of the Eastern Star (in Burlingame's +� Masonic Temple). The Wirick family lived in the bungalow at 38 Park Road for decades. Wirick and Sons Cigar store was located in the former building located at the corner of California Drive and .......... '- Burlingame Ave. (in 2oi2, Kabul Restaurant). The family also ran a billiard hall located at 125 Park Road; Edward Eisenman for an additional 5 organized binders of Burlingame happenings by addresses, for a collection of memorabilia of the Crocker Bank, R_ �2 collected by his late mother, Millicent Stern Eisenman, over a 30- a n :. year period, including a boxed 45rpm recording of "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters that was used as a Crocker advertising jingle, and local pamphlets, magazines and hundreds of articles about local events involving Burlingame and Hillsborough; Barbara Lackey for a graduation program from Roosevelt Jon Wirick while stationed in Germany School-193o, as well as a letter documenting what each graduate Many thanks to Carol Bria for a wound up doing later on; to Anonymous for a ticket to the Little -Big Game, Thursday Nov 26th, 19S9; and to the Burlingame Woman's Club Spring Style Burlingame Chamber of Commerce for several boxes of Show invitation, March 19S4, and for a historical printed matter and photos related to Chamber business Peninsula Progress newspaper, Nov 13, and activities between the 193os and 197os, as well as two early 1944 Jim Kelly for digital images of Chamber banners. DID YOU KNOW? John McLaren lived to be 96 years old, long enough to remind residents how Burlingame looked without trees, and encourage activists to plant even more trees. He is credited with planting more than one million trees during his long and very productive life, a great deal of them in San Mateo County. El Camino Trees, continued from pg. i and 192os, however, development pressures to commercialize highway properties threatened the grove, as would Dutch Elm Disease (DED), a blight that would work its way across the nation. Burlingame residents, in particular the members of the Burlingame Woman's Club, rallied residents and city leaders to save the trees. In what amounted to well over a decade of activism and debate, city leaders in 1930 ultimately established zoning ordinances designed to prohibit the commercialization of the Highway -- widely viewed as a threat to the beloved trees. Notably, this has been recognized as the first known instance of zoning in our nation, specifically designed to protect a historic resource. Remnants of gas stations permitted before the final zoning enactment are all that is left from that controversial period. With few exceptions, El Camino Real in Burlingame has remained largely residential by design to this day. This designation marks a century of protecting and being good stewards of the Grove, establishing enduring policies that have allowed trees to prosper during their lifespans, while new trees can be planted and thrive. The Tree Rows lie within the State Highway 82 right-of-way belonging to Caltrans. As a living resource, it is only through continued vigilance on our part that this historic grove will be cared for and rehabilitated with disease -tolerant elm saplings for future generations to enjoy. PAGE 2 Burlingame Historical Society P.O. Box 144 Burlingame, Ca 94011 www.burlingamehistorical.org 650-340-9960 Address Service Requested - Time Dated Material 1*1*****—*****SCH rrDIGIT 94010 KARLENE HARVEY BURLINGAME PARKS DEPARTMENT 850 BURLINGAME AVENUE BURLINGAME CA 94010-2899 Please remember us in your will. Non Profit Organization U.S. Postage PA1 D San Mateo, CA Permit #596 THE BURLINGAME HISTORICAL SOCIETY SPRING 2012, ISSUE #130 President's Message The National Register project for the El Camino Real Trees was a revelation in so many ways. There was much to discover, not only about the trees themselves, but more importantly, about their relationship to our community, its aesthetic values, and sense of place. Burlingame's passion and activism was already evident as McLaren's plantings started to mature. As envisioned by the I..:arly pioneers to this region, the Trees' sublime presence continues to inspire area residents, while beckoning newcomers to Burlingame and Hillsborough. I'd like to express my heartfelt thanks to the following individuals for contributing their talents and knowledge to this amazing project and journey: Mary Packard, Martha May, Bernie Borok and notably, the Burlingame Parks Dept: Bob Disco, Karlene Harvey and the. Burlingame Tree Crew, the latter who continually go the extra mile, caring for these and all our 15,000 public trees, Burlingame's most beautiful and enduring assets. .7ennifer Pfaff